As the Penn State Altoona men's soccer team prepares to enter its 2025 schedule, the Lions will rely on a large group of returning players to help lead the way while sprinkling some young talent into the mix.

Last season, a young Lions roster went 3-10 overall and 2-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, placing the team eighth in the regular season standings. Head coach Evan Cardoza, who is entering his first season at the helm of the program, hopes that this experience will pay off this fall.

"Having a large number of returning players proves beneficial, as they are already accustomed to the speed and physicality of the game at a higher level," said Cardoza. "We are hoping the returning players can use their experience to set the bar high for the freshmen and newcomers to help prepare them for the start of our season."

Some of Penn State Altoona's veteran leadership will come from its five seniors: Awad Eltayeb (Khartoum, Sudan/Altoona), Ethan Firth (York, PA/Central York), Frank Kasperowicz (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick), Aaron Lamy-Ramsden (Trinidad and Tobago/St. Benedict's College), and Ethan McDowell (Armagh, PA/Johnstown Christian School).

On the attack, Penn State Altoona brings back its top scorer from the 2024 season, sophomore midfielder Matias Harte (State College, PA/State College), who scored two goals and added one assist. Senior midfielder Lamy-Ramsden also accounted for a goal and an assist from the midfield position last season, his first with the Lions.

Additionally, Penn State Altoona will turn to some fresh talent to make an impact on the team's offense, including freshman forward Jackson Conner (Selinsgrove, PA/Northumberland Christian).

"Matias will be a key component to our midfield and team. His tactical awareness, technical ability, constant urge for the ball, and quality to be able to receive, control, and distribute under pressure leads him to be a key attribute. We expect him to continue this into our 2025 season," Cardoza explained. "Jackson brings to the table his quickness, technical ability, and high soccer IQ. A freshman with all three of these qualities is rare. His decision making, movement off the ball, and shooting abilities makes him one to watch in our 2025 season."

It will be a similar story for the Lions at the other end of the pitch, with the team relying on a mix of returners and first-year players to earn playing time. Sophomore defender Colin Murphy (State College, PA/State College) will help spearhead Penn State Altoona's back line, after he started all 13 games as a freshman last fall. Between the pipes, Cardoza highlights freshman Tyler Tardiff (Chadds Ford, PA/Garnet Valley) as being a player who can take a strong hold on the goalkeeper position.

"Colin is as calm and composed as they come. His quality on the ball and confidence is everything a coach wants as a defender. His constant encouragement and communication skills prove him to be a great leader, both on and off the field," said Cardoza. "Tyler has displayed great athleticism between the posts for us during training so far. His coordination, reflexes, strength, and positioning skills lead him in a great direction to make big saves in big moments. His communication skills prove he can help lead a team even when far away from the action. We have high hopes for his first season as well as his college career."

Now that Cardoza has ascended from the team's assistant coach to its head coach, he hopes that his squad will adopt some specific characteristics in their play this season.

"We are looking for the team to be fearless, tactical, and confident. A new coach means new styles of play, and each and every player will have to apply themselves in a way to fit the new system we are building," he stated. "Every player, whether they are a four-year vet or a freshman, has an equal opportunity to put their name in the starting 11. We as coaches need our players to be confident and trust each other to produce a cohesive squad."

Cardoza is hopeful that the 2025 version of Penn State Altoona men's soccer will continue to improve and realize its full potential.

"We believe the squad has improved since our prior season. With more depth in key areas, we expect a large number of players to get game time throughout the season," he said. "This group has immense potential to be successful; with new tactics and more depth, we are extremely excited for the 2025 season. We are looking to take things day-by-day and consistently grow as a team to achieve our goals."

Penn State Altoona men's soccer opens its 2025 season at home, hosting non-conference opponent McDaniel College on Friday, August 29 at 4 p.m. The Lions' full regular season schedule can be viewed at www.psaltoonalions.com.